Improved lock for coats



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

CHARLES B. TRIMBLE, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TOVHIMSELF-AND GHAS. T. ALLEN, OF SAME PLACE.

IIVIPROVED LOCK FOR COATS, 86C.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 5 M524, dated December 12, 1865; antedated November 30, 1865.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GHARLi-:s B. TRIMBLE, of the city, county, and State ot' New York, have invented a new and useful Safety-Lock for Coats, Uloaks, and other Articles of IVe-aring-Apparel; and 1 do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

The frequent and almost daily purloining of overcoats and other articles of wearing-apparel usually left by gentlemen in the en trancehall of houses, and removed from the person when in places ot' public resort, such as dining-rooms or restaurants, billiard-halls, &c.,

' has been the subject of much complaint and annoyance.

To remedy this difficulty has long been considered a desideratum, and therefore the present invention relates to the production of a safety-lock for coats, &c., so that when taken ott` by the wearer and hung upon the hooks or other devices generally provided therefor they can be so fastened or secured as only to be properly removed therefrom by the person owning or wearing the same, and necessitating, in case of an attempt by any other person to remove or steal it, so completely its destruction as to render it totally unfit for wear or use in any manner.

I secure this result by attaching one end of a long chain or other similar and suitable device to and upon a fixed staple of the hook, or of the wall to which the hook is secured, on the other end ot' which chain is a plug that, when the coat has been taken off by the person wearing the same and hung upon the desired hook, is passed down through one of its sleeves and out at the lower end thereof, or vice versa, or through one or more of its button-holes, according as may be deemed desirable or most expedient, and then inserted within a lock fastened to the wall in the proper position, and of such a form and construction, as will be presently described, that when the plug is inserted therein it shall be so held as to be only disengaged or removed therefrom by the use of a key made of the proper shape. By thus passing a chain through the sleeve of a coat or its button-holes, one end of which is attached to a fixed staple ot' the wall or hook, while the other is securely held within a lock, from which itcan only he disengaged by the use of a suitable shaped key, it is evident that without the key the coat can only he removed from the hook by so cutting or destroying its sleeve or the other parts of the same as to render it totally unfit to be worn or used, thereby greatly ohviating the liability of its being stolen, as well as also requiring so much time to accomplish the same as to render any attempt at theft almost certain of detection before being fully accomplished, the advantages of which are manifest to all persons.

The safety-lock which I use is of such a form that when the chain-plug is inserted in it and locked, as described, its key is unlocked, and vice versa, the particular advantages of which will be manifest by the following description.

In accompanying plate of drawings my new safety coat-lock is illustrated, Figure 1 being a front view of the lock, showing coat-hook and chain-plug` locked; Fig. 2, aview showing interior of lock; and Figs. 3, 4, 5, detail views of the lock and chain-plug.

a a, in the drawings represent a coat-hook, which may be made of any of the ordinary forms used, attached to and upon a metallic plate, b, having apertures c c, for the insertion of screws or other suitable devices for fastening it to the wall of a room or any other desired place.

Secured to plate b, and in the center thereof, is a case or box, d, in which the locking devices used are inserted, they consisting of a series of thin spring bars or plates, fff and ff, of nearly the same width as the thickness of the interior of the box, but of considerable less length, each cut out as represented at g in Fig. 3, with short pins h h secured in each of its shoulder-pieces l l, upon their inner faces and opposite to each other, leaving a small equal place, m, between the outer ends of the same, with the exception of the bar j", which has one of its shoulders, l', made of an inclined shape, as seen in Fig. 2. 'Ihese bars are inserted within the box at short and equal distances apart, with the portions cut away toward the plate b, and between suitable guidingpieces, n n u n, of the same, the bar f being in its upper portion and their edges in contact with the outer plate, o, of the box, and at the same end thereof are each cut away`for a short portion of their width, forming shoulders p p', with inclined edges, as seen in Fig. 2, the shoulderpl ofthe barf being made of a wedge shape.

Upon the exterior of the outer plate, o, at its center, and either attached thereto or formed therewith in one and the same piece, is a fixed staple, g,in which is secured one end of a chain, r, made of any metal, of aconvenient size, but

. of considerable strength, and ot' a length more than sufficient to extend through the sleeve of a persons coat, to the outer end of which chain is hung one end of a short plug, s, made of a straight bar of metal of less thickness than space m between the pins h h of the bars f, beveled at its other end, and having a series of apertures, t t t, extending entirely through its thickness, and at equal and the same distances apart as that between the parallel bars fff of the lock.

u u isthe key of the lock, made of the form represented in Fig. 2, with one edge straight and with a notch, y, at its inner end; z, its handle. The key, when inserted in the lock, passes over the at surfaces of the shoulders of its parallel bars, and by its uneven edge a', bearingand moving against theirregular edges of the same, finally catching by its notch y upon the wedge-shaped shoulder ofthe upper bar, j", where it is securely held until relieved therefrom, as will be presently described.

After the coat has been removed from the person wearing the same, it is hung upon the coat-hook a and the plug of the chain passed y down through its sleeve, and then inserted by its beveled end in the lock through an opening, b, thereof in its lower plate, c', and, passing through the same by and between the ends of the parallel bar-pins, nally impinges against theinelined shoulder of the upper bar, f', cansing it to be moved in its guides away from the key, thus relieving its wedge-shaped shoulder from the hook or notch of the same, and leaving itfree to be withdrawn, when the other bars, fj'f, interlock by their pins l1l h, Src., through the action of their springs, with the apertures in the said plug, as is evident without further description, thereby firmly and securely holding the plug within the lock, so that it cannot then be removed.

To remove the plug, again insert the key in the lock, as before described, when, as seen in Fig. 2, it so moves the parallel bars of the same -as to cause their pins to be disengaged from the chain-plug, leavingit, in its turn, free to be withdrawn.

, From the above description it is manifest that by the use of a chain permanently fixed at one end, and of sufcient length to pass entirely through the sleeve of a persons coat, and

be so held within a lock at its other end as only to be unfasten ed and removed therefrom by the use of a key fitting said lock, as described, the purloining of the coat is entirely prevented, the advantages of which have been hereinbefore enumerated and are evident to all.

There may be many variations in the form and construction of the lock described; and it is my intention to so vary them that the key of one shall not tit and unlock another, which it is apparent can be done with little difficulty, and also other kinds of locks can be used other than that herein described and represented in in the drawings, and therefore I do not intend to limit myself to the use of the one described or to any particular one.

In lieu of combining the hook-lock and chain-staple allin one piece and upon one plate,

as described, they can be as well made sepa- Y rate from each other and then attached to the wall in their proper positions. Also, in lieu of passing the chain through the coat-sleeve, it can be as well passed through one or more oi' its button-holes, although I deem the sleeve the most desirable and the best for the purpose.

It may be here remarked that there can be various modifications and altera-tions made in the detail, construction, and arrangement of the hook chain and lock and their several parts other than those hereinbefore mentioned, and without departing from the principles an d objects of' the present invention, which are to so fasten a coat when hung upon a hook as to entirely prevent any possibility or liability ot' its being removed or stolen therefrom.

My improvements are also adapted to the locking of other articles of wearing-apparel besides a coat, as herein particularly described, and can also he applied as well to the securin gof ladies7 garments. And, furthermore, although I have described my improvements as applied to the securing of a coat or other article of wearing-apparel to a hook, they can be also used for so locking a coat as to prevent its being removed from a chair, table, or any other of the devices ordinarily employed for the reception of coats, it being only necessary that the position ofthe xed staple and lock used should be regulated accordingly.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 'Ihe safety coat-lock herein described, the same consisting of a chain xed at one end to and upon the wall or other suitable place, in combination with a suitable locking or holding device havin g the general features herein specified, the two being arranged and operating together substantially in the manner set forth.

GHAS. B. TRIMBLE.

Witnesses:

ALBERT W. BROWN, M. M. LIVINGSTON. 

